


A Shoulder To Lean On

by hunenka



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Missing Scene, slight Petrellicest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-09
Updated: 2013-04-09
Packaged: 2017-12-07 23:57:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/754591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunenka/pseuds/hunenka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night of Nathan and Heidi’s accident Peter takes care of his brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Shoulder To Lean On

**A Shoulder To Lean On**  
Author: hunenka  
Fandom: Heroes  
Pairing(s): Nathan/Heidi, hints of Peter/Nathan  
Rating: general audiences  
Warnings: a slight hint of incest  
Summary: The night of Nathan and Heidi’s accident Peter takes care of his brother.

======

When the surgeons explain Nathan everything they know so far about Heidi’s condition, Nathan is apparently close to tears even though he does his best to hide it.

But Peter can tell, he knows his brother much better than Nathan knows, he sees right through his tough big brother façade. It also helps that Peter’s profession puts him in daily contact with people receiving bad news, so he recognizes that look of desperate resignation when he sees one.

Peter doesn’t show it though, leaving Nathan the merciful illusion that nobody can see him cracking.

Nathan’s sitting on a hospital chair, immobile, staring right ahead with unseeing eyes. Peter walks over to him and gently places one hand on Nathan’s shoulder, squeezing softly. “Nathan. Come on, let’s get you home.”

Dark eyes simmering with tears look up to meet with Peter’s. “Home?” It’s like he doesn’t even comprehend the word.

Keeping one hand on Nathan’s shoulder, Peter crouches before his brother so they are face to face. “You need to get some sleep.”

Nathan’s mouth opens to protest, but Peter silences him with a finger placed on Nathan’s lips. “I know you don’t want to leave her alone, but it’ll take at least till morning for her meds to wear off. And I know you want to be with her even if she’s unconscious, but you’ll help Heidi much more if you get some rest so you’ll be functional when she wakes up.”

 _When_ , not if, and Nathan nods slightly at that show of hope, but doesn’t move otherwise.

“You’ll have to be strong for her and for the boys,” Peter continues. The boys are at a summer camp right now and it’s already been decided by the family that they shouldn’t learn about their mother’s accident before her situation is more stable. “You’ll have to be strong and in order to be strong you have to get some sleep.”

Nathan nods again, weakly. “Okay.”

Peter smiles and pats him encouragingly on the cheek. “Good brother.” Standing up, he offers him a hand. Nathan takes it and apparently it’s not just a gesture of good will for him because he practically lets Peter pull him to his feet.

“Come on,” Peter mumbles, and Nathan obediently follows him through the hospital corridor, still holding onto Peter’s hand tightly.

===

On the ride back home Nathan is mostly silent but he’s still clutching onto Peter’s hand as if his life depends on it. He’s gripping it so tight it hurts but Peter doesn’t say a word.

When the cab closes to the Petrelli mansion, Nathan rouses from his stupor. “I don’t wanna go there. Everything at home would just make me…”

“…think about her,” Peter finishes, quickly catching on. “We can go to my place.”

“Okay.”

===

“Come in,” Peter mutters automatically when he unlocks the door. Nathan follows him inside the apartment, stopping in the middle of the kitchen as if unsure what to do next.

Peter is looking at him critically. “When’s the last time you’ve eaten?”

“I don’t remember.”

“You should eat something,” Peter starts rummaging through his fridge.

“I don’t think I could keep anything down,” Nathan says flatly.

Peter stops and turns to examine his brother. Nathan looks lost and tired. And sick. “Okay, I’ll let it slip this time.” He pours a glass of water and brings it to Nathan. “But you really do need to drink.”

Nathan just stares at the water.

“Drink,” Peter repeats softly yet firmly. He’s in full nurse mode now and Nathan reacts to the tone, taking the glass from Peter’s hand and drinking. When he’s finished, he hands the glass back to Peter who puts it on the counter.

Nathan looks exhausted, swaying slightly, but he just stands there in the middle of the kitchen, obviously not realizing that he could actually sit down. Or lie down.

Peter takes him by the hand again and starts leading him towards the bedroom. “You need to lie down before you fall down,” he observes and the comment draws a soft chuckle from Nathan.

He pushes Nathan towards the bed, making him sit on the edge. “Let’s get you undressed, okay?”  
Nathan just nods so Peter moves to pull the jacket off his shoulders and carefully puts it on a hanger in the wardrobe.

Nathan still doesn’t seem like he’s going to help Peter in any way so Peter kneels down to unlace his polished dress shoes and with the help of several short orders manages to take them off. The socks follow closely after.

“You’ll feel more comfortable like this,” Peter says just to ward off the heavy silence. His fingers are unbuttoning Nathan’s shirt now, slow and careful. He puts it on another hanger, then goes to pull the undershirt off. Nathan lets himself be handled like a child, obediently raising his hands so Peter can take it off. The pants come off last, Nathan stepping out of them as directed.

Peter gives him a reassuring smile. “Now get in the bed.” Nathan does so and Peter pulls the covers over him, tucking him in like Nathan used to do to Peter when he was a small boy.

Planting a gentle kiss on Nathan’s forehead, Peter gets up to leave. “I’ll take the couch. If you need anything, just holler.”

Nathan’s hand moves from underneath the covers with surprising speed, catching Peter’s wrist. “Don’t leave. Please.” His dark eyes are staring at Peter intently from beneath the long dark lashes; his voice is a little shaky. Again, it reminds Peter of them when they were younger, only now their positions are reversed.

“Okay, I’ll stay,” he whispers, the same words Nathan used to say to him when Peter was small and scared of being left alone in his dark room. Nathan never left him alone in the dark and Peter won’t leave his brother either.

Undressing quickly to his underwear, Peter turns off the light and slips under the covers. Nathan’s body is warm and firm against his, but Peter can tell that Nathan is still distressed.

“Come here,” Peter mutters, drawing Nathan closer. Nathan rests his head on Peter’s shoulder, wrapping one arm around his neck tightly. Peter smiles a little and holds Nathan just as tightly.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he whispers, one hand rubbing soothing circles into Nathan’s back. “You can sleep now, I’ll watch over you.”

“I’m scared,” Nathan says so softly that if Peter didn’t feel his breath, he wouldn’t be really sure he heard the words at all. “What if she never walks again?”

Peter isn’t sure how to answer. “There’s no point in worrying now,” he tries finally, although it sounds lame even to his own ears.

“She’ll hate me.”

This time the answer comes easily. “Of course she won’t. She loves you, Nathan, you know that. She’ll always love you.”

“How do you know?” Nathan asks in a small voice.

Peter smiles sadly and kisses the top of Nathan’s head. “It’s impossible not to love you.”

They lie in silence, both lost in grim thoughts.

And if Nathan’s clutching onto his brother too tight, then surely it’s just because he needs comfort. And if Peter’s holding his brother too close, then surely it’s just because he wants to give that comfort to him.

Right?

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> I know I took some liberties with how it all happened (I conveniently sent the kids away and also put Heidi out of the picture by making her unconscious). It wasn't intentional, my brain somehow remembered it happening like this and when I found out it happened differently, I just decided to ignore it. Yes, lazy me.


End file.
